Project by

About this project

About the film

Imagine
discovering a product that you've been using is causing serious damage
to your health and the environment. But instead of safely disposing of
that toxic product, you decide to go next door and sell it to your
neighbor. Hard to imagine, right?

This scenario isn't
entirely unimaginable. In the United States, once a pesticide is pulled
off the market because it is shown have dangerous effects on peoples'
health and the environment, we allow corporations to continue
manufacturing and exporting that pesticide to other countries--even just
a few feet across our borders.

If successfully funded, Toxic Profits will
be a feature-length film documenting the lives of those most affected
by this policy--those living in the Global South who are applying these
banned and unregistered pesticides and suffering serious health effects
as a result. Countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America use 25% of the world's pesticides, yet account for 99% of deaths caused by these toxins. [1] Some 25 million farmers
and agricultural workers across the globe are poisoned by pesticides
each year, and poorly educated and impoverished laborers are most at
risk, often applying pesticides without any training or protective
clothing. [2]

The film will also explore how this
issue affects everyone, as national borders mean nothing to pesticides.
Millions of barrels of pesticides travel the global marketplace and
re-circulate as residue on food and fiber, as well as contaminants in
global air and water currents. [3] Moreover, the U.S. Department of
Agriculture indicates that in 2010, almost 50% of fresh fruits and 25%
of fresh vegetables consumed in the U.S. were grown overseas, yet the
Food and Drug Administration currently inspects less than 1% of imports.
[4] Although the use of certain pesticides within U.S. borders is
banned, these toxins may be coming back to us, in what is called the
"circle of poison".

Finally, Toxic Profits will
document alternative, sustainable farming solutions to
corporate-controlled, pesticide-intensive agriculture. Because the
global pesticide market is increasing by billions of dollars every year,
the film will highlight alternative farming methods that have proven
more effective and even more profitable than the industry standard.

Nick Capezzera is a film maker living in New York City. Prior to Toxic Profits, he produced a documentary short, "A Summer at Hopper's House" that was featured at the Somerville Open Cinema Festival.

Evan Mascagni is
an attorney living in San Francisco, working for a non-profit
organization and a public interest law firm. He attended UDC David A.
Clarke School of Law in Washington, DC, where he was Editor-in-Chief of
the UDC Law Review: Activism Meets Scholarship.

Shannon Post is a chef-sociologist, currently working as a baker in San Francisco. Prior to becoming a certified Natural Chef at Bauman College, focusing on seasonal, local, and organic food, she earned her Master's in Sociology at American University in DC.

How you are helping

Thank you for visiting our Kickstarter page
(and reading this far). Since beginning this project we have
interviewed several experts in the field, from New York City to Los
Angeles to San Francisco, and have visited several farms to put this project video together and earn your support. Now the challenging work
begins. Your contribution will go towards the rental of film-making equipment, the costs of travel to farms in the Global South, and the editing of the full-length film. We are operating on a small budget and are seeking only to
raise the minimum amount that will ensure the completion of a
feature-length documentary. Anything you can give is greatly
appreciated, and if you can't afford to give, simply spreading the word
means just as much.

Best,

Evan, Nick & Shannon

*We want to issue a special thanks to Zach Jones, Zach La Grou, and Jeff Koster for the beautiful audio featured in our project video.